Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa stated on Tuesday that the Centre plans to sign a peace treaty with militant groups from the state’s Adivasi people in September. He told a press conference following a cabinet meeting here that his government discovered a 50 lakh beneficiary gap after integrating Aadhaar IDs with ration cards across the state.
According to Sarma, the central government is set to sign a peace treaty with terrorist groups from Assam’s Adivasi community this month. Without going into specifics, he stated that the entire procedure is being carried out at the request of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
According to a top source from the Assam Police headquarters, five terrorist factions are likely to sign the peace pact. All Adivasi National Liberation Army, Adivasi Cobra Militant of Assam, Birsa Commando Force, Santhal Tiger Force, and Adivasi People’s Army are among these organisations.
“These groups have been in ceasefire for many years after announcing Suspension of Operations. Their cadres live at designated camps under police protection,” According to the official.
In January 2020, the federal government signed the Bodo Peace Accord with the insurgent group National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).
Sarma commented on the disparity in the number of beneficiaries discovered when the Aadhaar card and ration cards were linked, saying, “We have found that around 50 lakh beneficiaries have not come (for the service). Some people might have died and some might have moved to other places due to marriages. Unfortunately, there were some fake ones also.”
Sarma stated that the government will save a significant amount of money for these unauthorised beneficiaries and will add real persons to the list as a result.
“We will bring in a set of new 50 lakh people under the ambit of the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Today’s cabinet discussed all these points,” He continued.
Sarma further informed reporters that some 62,000 persons were found to be ineligible for its flagship ‘Orunodoi’ plan, while approximately 2,000 have willingly given up the program’s benefits. The state government gives monthly monetary support of Rs 1,000, which would be increased to Rs 1,250 beginning in October, to the scheme’s beneficiaries, who number roughly 20 lakh families.
The Orunodoi month is getting over on September 20. We will know the exact number of exclusions then only. I hope one lakh new beneficiaries will be added in place of the exclusions,” He continued.
The cabinet also authorised a financial package for persons from communities such as Adivasis, Bodos, and Koch-Rajbongshis who were displaced by violence in the state.
According to the chief minister, the state government supports handing more power to elected groups such as the Kamatapur Autonomous Council and the Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council.
“We need to give land rights to Kamatapur Autonomous Council in the areas excluding the BTR (Bodoland Territorial Region) and Rabha Hasong Autonomous Council region. However, we are not in favour of the division of Assam to create a new Kamatapur state as demanded by a few people,” He continued.
The CM also stated that the government has agreed to allow students to write examinations in Bodo language until class 12 beginning with the next academic session. It is currently permitted up to class 10.
Sarma told reporters that Rs 500 crore will be spent as part of the CM Goodwill Project in enhancing road communication in the BTR area over the next two fiscal years as part of the other concerns discussed at the cabinet meeting.
“We have also resolved to allow the administration of the Bodoland Territorial Council to provincialize 10 colleges in the BTR.” So yet, only the state government has carried out this task. This change is made in accordance with the Bodo Peace Accord,” he noted.
Sarma stated that there will be no reservations in appointing college instructors for the Bodo department in the future.
“We were finding it difficult to fill vacancies in the Bodo department because of reservations. Usually, SC, OBC and general students do not study Bodo. Because of this, many faculty positions across the state are lying vacant,” he stated. Sarma further stated that the Assam administration has urged that the delimitation work in the state begin.
He went on to say, “We have decided to form the District Police Accountability Commission as announced earlier. With this, people will be able to complain against erring police officials in the district itself. A law will be passed in the Assembly for this.” Sarma further stated that the cabinet approved the repeal of 48 old and obsolete acts during the Assembly’s next session later this month.
On August 31, the cabinet approved the repeal of 316 obsolete and underused acts through the introduction of two sets of repeal measures during the next Autumn Session of the Assam Assembly, which begins on September 12.
Sarma stated that the government will issue appointment letters to around 12,000 adolescents on September 22, followed by the recruitment of 4,500 ‘Jal Mitras’ the following day.
“We are also preparing to advertise 10,000 more posts, of which 5,000 will be from the Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL). We will set up a new forest battalion too. We are on track to fulfil our promise to give jobs to one lakh youths,” he stated.
